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Born: Established: Sep 2009 Melbourne, Victoria, ;
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2 2 y separately published work icon Sinning Across Spain : A Walker's Journey from Granada to Galicia Ailsa Piper , Carlton : Victory Books , 2012 Z1870137 2012 single work autobiography

'"I WILL WALK OFF YOUR SINS
Pilgrim seeks sinners for mutually beneficial arrangement.
Seven Deadlies a speciality."

'With those words Ailsa Piper sought sponsors for a 1300km solo walk across Spain. She worried people would think she'd joined a cult. She worried her knees would give out—and not from praying! She worried that 30kms a day for six weeks, with a swag of sins for company, would send her mad. But she went.

'She began at Easter, a time of sin and reflection—but not hot cross buns, as she discovered. She hiked olive groves, searched for lodgings in refuges and sports centres, and "did the crying" for those who'd sponsored her.

'As a child, Ailsa's plea was "Don't cry. Don't cry. Let me do the crying!" Her walk took that to new extremes! Like medieval believers who paid others to carry their sins to holy places, and so buy forgiveness, Ailsa's donors confessed to anger and envy, pride and lust, sloth and selfishness, among others. Along the way, their sins became hers. She was tempted and she battled. On one occasion, she was saved by a fellow pilgrim's snoring, proving sharing a room with forty belching, grunting blokes can be a blessing!

'Miracles also found her. Matrons stuffed homemade sausages into her pack. Angels in name and nature eased her path. And she fell in love: with kindness, strangers, and Spain.

'She came home changed—as were many of her sinners. Their stories made her believe in the power of confession—acknowledging we're all sinners. All saints.

'Sinning Across Spain celebrates the blessing of bathtubs, the benediction of bunions, and the simple act of setting down one foot after the other.' (From the publisher's website.)

1 3 y separately published work icon Ray Martin's Favourites : The Stories behind the Legends Ray Martin (interviewer), Carlton : Victory Books , 2011 Z1828856 2011 selected work interview

'Award-winning journalist Ray Martin is one Australia's most loved personalities. It seems he's been everywhere and met everybody, for 60 Minutes and a range of top-rating ABC and Channel 9 shows.

'So, who are his favourites? And what was Audrey Hepburn or Prince Charles or Madonna really like? That's what people always ask Ray and that's why he's written this book.

'Ray's Favourites bring together the most remarkable of these interviews, offering an intriguing insight into some truly extraordinary celebrities—Dustin Hoffman talking about sex, Jane Fonda talking about God, some poetry from Ronnie Biggs the Great Train Robber and some wisdom from Patrick Dodson, the father of reconciliation.

'Here, too, are the last interviews with Sir Donald Bradman, Fred Hollows and Kerry Packer. The comedy brilliance of Billy Crystal, Robin Williams and Peter Cook. The studio body-language when Bob Hawke and Paul Keating came together for the first and only time.

'And much more.

'Revealing, perceptive and inspiring, Ray's Favourites is compulsive reading. Enjoy the journey.' (From the publisher's website.)

1 2 y separately published work icon Collingwood : A Love Story Paul Daley , Carlton : Victory Books , 2011 Z1807828 2011 single work biography 'A multi-generational saga of football, love, war, forgiveness and, most critically, identity.

'Every year when Collingwood plays Essendon in the AFL s annual Anzac Day match, Collingwood president Eddie McGuire carries an old horseshoe into the team's changing rooms and passes it around. The players examine it as he relates the great footy club story behind it.

'It's early in the twentieth century and Doc Seddon, a Collingwood player, introduces his childhood sweetheart, Louie, to his dashing team mate, Paddy Rowan. Paddy sweeps Louie off her feet and they marry. But war intervenes. Doc and Paddy go off to fight, leaving Louie to raise Paddy's baby. When Paddy is killed, Doc promises that he will always look after Paddy's wife and child. Just before the 1917 Grand Final, he sends a horseshoe back from the Somme, where he continued to serve. It brings the Magpies luck - they win.

'It is a lovely story. Except, of course, that fairytales didn't come true in Collingwood, the biggest slum of Melbourne.

'What really happened to them is a much grittier tale.' (From the publisher's website.)
2 2 y separately published work icon The Liam Jurrah Story : From Yuendumu to the MCG Bruce Hearn Mackinnon , Carlton : Victory Books , 2011 Z1798492 2011 single work biography 'Known as the 'Warlpiri Warrior,' the 'Jurrahcane' and 'Cougar,' Liam Jurrah is a rising star of the AFL, known for his startling displays of skill, artistry and the 'deadly' impact of his football ability. But despite Liam's prodigious talent, he is a relative newcomer to the AFL' (Trove record)
1 6 y separately published work icon Babylon Stephen Sewell , Carlton South : Victory Books , 2011 Z1797729 2011 single work novel crime thriller 'An English backpacker heads north for sun, women and a shot at making a fortune working the prawn trawlers. Mick is looking for adventure, but hitching a ride with the enigmatic Dan leads him into more trouble and depravity than even the most reckless traveller could stomach. As the pair speed their way through the apocalyptic landscape, in a spiral of escalating violence, Dan reveals the world as seen through his eyes, and exposes Mick's true nature.

'A gripping tale of two men—one struggling to become a man and the other with the cruelest of intentions—and a game of psychological cat-and-mouse, Babylon takes you to the edge, and never brings you back.' (From the publisher's website.)
1 6 y separately published work icon Finding Valentino : Four Seasons in My Father's Italy Angela Di Sciascio , Carlton : Victory Books , 2011 Z1772058 2011 single work autobiography

'Angela Di Sciascio's father can no longer describe his past, lost in a world ravaged by Alzheimer's disease. Deciding not to let his story fade, Angela embarks on a voyage that takes her through four seasons in her father's Italy, reconnecting to her ancestry and absorbing all of its chaos, beauty and style.

'Meal by meal at her father's family table and step by step through the Italian countryside, she slowly comes to understand the young Valentino who left for the new world.

'Along the way, she discovers the simple pleasures of rustic polenta high in the mountains, pesto on the Ligurian coast and shares melt-in-your-mouth ragù with friends inla boisterous Rome. But she is always drawn back to the small hamlet tucked in the embrace of the Abruzzo mountains and the cuisine that feeds her soul, sharing with us her family's traditional recipes, as well as the joy of finding her father's home.' (From the publisher's website.)

1 1 y separately published work icon What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger Archie Thompson , Michael Winkler , Carlton : Victory Books , 2010 Z1741111 2010 selected work autobiography

'What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger is a book of inspirational stories from Australian A-League football star Archie Thompson that shares his love of the game and his family through the highs and lows.

'What does it take to become a success on or off the field? How can setbacks make you stronger? Where do you find guidance on the road to the top? Archie Thompson is one of Australia's best loved footballers, a ten-year veteran of the Socceroos and marquee player for the A-League's power club, Melbourne Victory.

'Football fans love the way Archie plays with a smile on his face and this book, like the man himself, is straight-shooting. He writes on everything from the importance of discipline and loyalty to how to build confidence in yourself and overcome life's challenges while enjoying the good times.

'His stories will inspire anyone who plays sport or wants to make a difference in life. Archie tells how he has been inspired by legendary teammates like Harry Kewell and friend Tim Cahill and guided by some of the greats in the game. But as he explains, the drive to become the best you can be is found within.' (From the publisher's website.)

1 3 y separately published work icon Animal Kingdom Stephen Sewell , Carlton : Victory Books , 2010 Z1714761 2010 single work novel crime

'Armed robber Pope Cody is on the run from a gang of renegade detectives who want him dead.

'As revenge killings and paybacks explode onto Melbourne streets, seventeen-year-old J finds himself at the centre of a bloody struggle between his family and the police. J is forced to navigate his way past slippery lawyers, corrupt cops and a paranoid and vengeful underworld.

'To survive he must learn how the game is played and choose his place in the animal kingdom. He must work out where he fits.' (From the publisher's website.)

1 2 y separately published work icon Offsider Patrick Mangan , Carlton : Victory Books , 2010 Z1698749 2010 single work autobiography

'From the moment he could kick a ball, Patrick Mangan was fanatical about soccer. And, what he lacked in skill, he made up for in a devotion not shared, sadly, by the residents of the Wimmera. Like Nick Hornby's Fever Pitch set among the gum trees and dust, this is the story of a weedy Pommy kid falling in love with the world game and his epic battle to convert the pagans of the outback to the cause. All with the added stigma of barracking for the hapless English team, Arsenal.

'Offsider is about how sport defines us, how nationality defines us. And how a boy came to love the occasionally heroic, sometimes tragic, World Cup-bound Socceroos.' (From the publisher's website.)

1 5 y separately published work icon Sunflower : A Tale of Love, War and Intrigue Colin McLaren , Carlton : Victory Books , 2010 Z1688460 2010 single work novel historical fiction

'"This is rare, soldier. She sees death . . . but to you, it will come four times."

In a small town in outback Australia, railwayman George Bingham toils while dreaming of far-off shores and adventure. When the call goes out for Great War volunteers, he drops his worn mattock, leaves his socialite love and jumps on the first ship to stricken Europe.

As his war runs from Gallipoli to the Somme, larrikin George becomes "Sunflower". And as foretold in a prophecy by a Bedouin woman in the back streets of Cairo, he endures squalid trenches and immeasurable heartbreak. One by one his mates fall, until George stands alone. Striving to reclaim his humanity, he lands in the arms of a French nurse who heals his wounds and teaches him to dream again.

Based on the experiences of one of Australia's longest serving Anzacs, Sunflower tells of the redemptive power of hope and optimism in the hideousness of battle.' (From the publisher's website.)

1 5 y separately published work icon On the Run Colin McLaren , Carlton : Victory Books , 2009 Z1624467 2009 single work novel crime

'Covert operative Cole Goodwin pulls off the biggest undercover sting in Australia. Now he's on the run in the biggest gig of his life - survival.

'Cole Goodwin spent years undercover, infiltrating the Mafia and putting the Australian Godfather behind bars for twenty years. As his team celebrate the "guilty" verdict, the Mafia are rolling out a vendetta, aided by Cole's corrupt boss. The dodgy Inspector Mack has plans for a prosperous retirement in France, and wants Cole out of his life - fast - as well as collecting a million-dollar bonus along the way.

'With his life under threat, Cole blows the dust off his secret identities, kisses his pretty girlfriend goodbye, and jumps planes, trains, ferries and continents, finally arriving in dark, bleak, southern Italy and the heartland of his enemy-the N'Drangheta, who has sent its best hitman to end his run...' (From the publisher's website.)

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